This blog is maintained by the New Mexico Corrections Department Public Affairs Director. The purpose of this blog is to showcase what is happening at NMCD in both the Adult Prisons Division and Probation and Parole.
"We commit to the safety and well-being of the people of New Mexico by doing the right thing, always."
Please contact ashley.espinoza@state.nm.us if you have questions about this blog.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Beginning Blogger

Well, this is our first go at what we expect will be a behind the scenes look at some of the great work happening at the New Mexico Corrections Department!

To kick things off, we thought we would share this good news!

The New Mexico Corrections Department’s commitment to
reducing the use of segregation, a setting where inmates live alone and do not
participate in group events, has taken a large step forward with the first group
of offenders being moved out of a segregation environment into a general
population setting.

Recently, the department calculated that approximately 9.6%
of the State's prison population is held in segregation environments. The
department is aiming to reduce that to approximately 5% over the course of next
year. Corrections has already taken steps to lower the number of inmates in
segregation by moving inactive, non-predatory gang members out into a general
population setting.

“We've made it clear that when you come to prison, you are
going to be accountable for the crimes you have committed. On the other
hand, it's up to us as corrections professionals to understand that many of our
inmates have the capacity to be accountable and grow from their circumstances,”
Corrections Secretary Gregg Marcantel said. “So we are going to give
non-predatory inmates a chance at new freedoms and opportunities to
change. With these new freedoms, they will now have a chance to hug their
children or family members during visits and become better parents, spouses,
and children themselves. They will have a chance to participate in group
education and life skills programming, to take part in hobby craft and other
job training programs.”

“Let there be no doubt that these new privileges come with a
clear understanding that these offenders must remain accountable.
Following the rules is simply not negotiable. We have made it clear
that we will maintain safe prisons and if these inmates choose to jeopardize
that safety, they will have no one other than themselves to blame for the loss
of these privileges. This won't be a matter of the NMCD taking away an
inmate's privileges, the inmate will be giving back the freedoms we have given
them and want them to have." Marcantel said.

To start off 2014, 11 more inmates who had been assessed and
identified as good candidates for the Restoration to Population program
are being moved out of segregation over a 4 week process to acclimate them to
life in general population again.

Since October of 2013, about 50 inmates have now been moved
into a general population setting.